China does not seek to change the existing status of territorial claims in the South China Sea with its newly built lighthouses, the Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday, arguing that Beijing already had "indisputable sovereignty" in the contested waters.

• October 20, 2015

China's economic growth dipped below 7 percent for the first time since the global financial crisis on Monday, hurt partly by cooling investment, raising pressure on Beijing to further cut interest rates and take other measures to stoke activity.

• October 19, 2015

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday condemned Iran's execution of two minors last week, while voicing his concern about the rise in executions in the Islamic republic.

• October 19, 2015

NATO and its allies opened their largest military exercise in more than a decade on Monday, choosing the central Mediterranean to showcase strengths that face threats from Russia's growing military presence from the Baltics to Syria.

• October 19, 2015

The United States approved conditional sanctions waivers for Iran on Sunday, though it cautioned they would not take effect until Tehran has curbed its nuclear program as required under a historic nuclear deal reached in Vienna on July 14.

• October 18, 2015

Germany's foreign minister said on Sunday sanctions against Iran would likely remain in place until at least January as world powers wait to see whether Tehran sticks to its commitments under a plan to curb its nuclear program.

• October 18, 2015

The leaders of ex-Soviet states, led by Russian President Vladimir Putin, responded to growing instability in Afghanistan on Friday by agreeing to create a joint task force to defend their bloc's external borders if a crisis arises.

• October 16, 2015

Israel on Friday rejected a Palestinian appeal for an international protection force for the al-Aqsa mosque on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, saying the status quo was the only way to ensure stability in the region.

• October 16, 2015